One of the fastest growing markets in contemporary computing is in mobile computing devices, such as laptop computers. When selecting a mobile computing device, many consumers consider the weight and battery life to be very important criteria. To an extent, the weight and battery life are traded off; e.g., the larger the device, the larger the battery that is needed to power it, and more than one battery is often carried with the device to prolong its usability between recharges.
In general, when choosing a mobile device, the more efficient the power management, the longer the battery life will be relative to overall weight and/or system performance. As a result, device manufacturers are continually seeking ways to more efficiently manage power consumption.
The display on a mobile personal computer (PC) is one of the significant areas of power consumption, however the ability to control the power consumed by the display has heretofore been limited. Indeed, the power management methods that modern displays employ are essentially still rooted in technology related to the foundation of computer displays, the CRT. For example, for mobile PCs, users can set the backlight level, and set an inactivity timer to turn off the display when the system is not being used for a user-specified duration. This works because the backlight is a large power user. However, the user can only adjust the backlight level so much, based on the current surrounding environment, and the inactivity timer does not apply when the user is working on the computing device.
More recently, profiles have been added to allow the user to have different settings for various characteristics, including backlight settings and inactivity timer settings, for different modes of use, with a relatively easy way to switch between the predefined modes. For example, a user can set up and select one profile for a plugged-in state, another profile for normal use when on battery, another (maximum battery life) profile for times when battery life needs to be conserved, and so forth. However, even when running with a reduced power profile, when the device is in use the inactivity timer is irrelevant, and the user has to tolerate the lowered backlight level to conserve power, or if not able to because of the current environment, raise the backlight level but then lose the power savings.
What is needed is a way to provide improved battery life for mobile computing devices, including mobile PCs. In particular, the overall power consumption of device displays needs to be addressed in an advanced way.